Welcome

Welcome to Brockbank Debate! I am excited to work with all of you. This is a great program that teaches so many skills. Students should expect to work hard, stretch their brains (sometimes more than they think is possible :), learn so many valuable skills that will hopefully carry over into their future endeavors and have some fun along the way. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to work with your amazingly talented children.

Contact Mrs. Peterson

Overview of Policy Debate

DEBATE is an opportunity for students to use their skills of reading, thinking, writing, speaking and listening in a meaningful situation that can be related to their own lives. Teams of two students research a controversial issue to collect facts and expert opinions for/against a proposed change (stated as a resolution). They prepare cases by using these data and making inferences. Teams face opponents in timed speeches. They attempt to elicit judges’ votes by stating a strong case and refuting opponent’s claims with contradictory facts and explanations. Elementary students argue either as an affirmative or a negative team.

Debate focuses on six main skill areas:

1. ANALYSIS: the higher thinking skill of breaking down an idea into its parts (parts may be comparisons, contrasts, causes and effects, and trends). In debate, analysis follows a fairly standard process of finding pro and con positions on the issues.

2. ORGANIZAT ION: the three part organization of a speech—introduction, body, and conclusion.

3. DELIVERY: the presentation of a speech including projection, eye contact, fluency, and style.

4. EVIDENCE: facts, statistics, and expert testimony given in support of an argument.

5. REASONING: the higher level thinking skill of synthesis used to identify main points, support each with evidence, explain relationships, and draw conclusions.